Located off Route 5 in Wallingford, Ola Restaurant has been serving its modern fusion of traditional Latino dishes for the past four years. The family-style restaurant provides a unique atmosphere inspired by the cultures of Central America and the Caribbean, which draws customers back again and again. With the aroma of fresh paella and soft Mexican music playing in the background, each customer is likely to be transported to Antigua, Guatemala, the small city whose environment Mr. Melvin Lopez and his brother, Mr. Wagner Lopez, owners of Ola, aimed to recreate through their restaurant.
The two brothers have opened three family-run Ola restaurants since 2006. After Mr. Wagner Lopez had some success working in the restaurant business in Connecticut, he wanted his brother and his brother’s wife, Mrs. Cherry Navas, who were living in Guatemala, to come to Connecticut to help him bring their home culture and food to the first Ola restaurant, which they established in Orange, CT in 2006. The family soon branched out to Bridgeport, before selling the Bridgeport location and moving to Wallingford in 2015.
Ola may seem like it is missing an “H” at the beginning, and, to be sure, the owners love to say hello. But, as Ms. Navas explained, “Ola means the wave of the ocean, as the menu was mainly seafood at the beginning of the restaurant, and we wanted to showcase the emphasis on the ocean.” Over time, Ola’s cuisine has evolved to include a variety of different styles. According to Ms. Navas, “Our food is from nowhere specific but a fusion of many cultures under Nuevo Latino cuisine.”
Ms. Navas helps the family business by working many different roles, from cooking in the kitchen to greeting at the front door. She loves being able to share a taste of her home to the people of Connecticut. In particular, she enjoys serving Ola Restaurant’s unique branzino dish. “We at Ola have a special way of preparing the fish,” she said. “The whole fish including head and tail is served with a salad of sweet mango, goat cheese, field green, sweet plantain croutons, and cumber finished off with a mango naval orange vinaigrette.”
Ms. Navas cherished the opportunity to connect with customers through Ola’s food. The restaurant business is quite demanding with long hours, but every moment seems to fulfill her.
Ola is best known for its fresh seafood and chorizo paella. The dish is a visual masterpiece, with two crescent-shaped red tortilla chips placed on the sides of a bountiful bowl of paella that consists of shrimp, mussels, clams, and fish covered in an exquisite sauce with Spanish-style rice and corn. It is a large dish that provides plenty of delicious leftovers for the next couple of days.
Along with their robust appetizer and entree menu, the restaurant also offers a number of desserts. The Exotic Bamba, for instance, is a mango, passionfruit, and raspberry sorbet covered in chocolate — perfect on a warm summer night relaxing on Ola’s lantern-lit back porch.
